Premier Quality Hashish?

Checked the back of the T-shirt. The one highlighting premier Hashish. No luck. No treasure map leading to the halucinatory world of hashish. For now, Heineken will do.

Prints on Canvas

Have you ever thought of printing your favourite photographs on canvas? Looks really cool. Cost is very reasonable, approximately RM0.20 per square inch. Our gallery can arrange for these prints if you are interested.

I have a good friend cum client, ordered this picture (yes, this has been processed), of fireworks at putrajaya, Malaysia. Very happy that this photograph is now adorning a wall.

Panning - girl on swing

I was visiting a friend and saw his daughter, Mel, playing a the swing. Sharing with you a photograph of her, after being absent for a couple of days. Panning this shot with a point and shoot. turns out ok.

If I have the time, I will edit my photographs before posting. Otherwise, they are posted straight off the camera.

Macro shots - two fighting spiders

Had been really busy finishing a couple of asignments, and that include preparing and sending out invoices. These two hairy spideys provide some relief to the mounting pressure of work.

What you see in the first pictures were two spiders circling each other. Then,

they were locked in battle. Alas, not for long. They scuttled away as soon as this photo was snapped.

I can still remember the days when, as a young boy, we went in search of similar type of spiders. These spiders normally make their nests in between two leaves that were strung together with their webs. Not that difficult to find once we became adept in locating their nests. As in photography, it is not too difficult to find interesting subjects when we are constantly scanning for them.

Anyway, for city folks who do not have the pleasure of growing up in Kampungs, we catch these spiders, place them in matchboxes (the matchboxes of yester years are rather difficult to come by these days), and bring them out to face their foes - another spider that is held in captivity until such 'fights' can be arranged. The good old days...

A great get-away near Bukit Tinggi

Again, I these pictures will tell more than what I can with thousands of words.

My neighbourhood was invited by this generous family who knows and appreciates the finer things in life. And what a life...! I can only share these few photographs (unedited) here. The rest will soon be uploaded in my website.

The place is great, the companies are great, and the fruits - yummy...

a brook running past the 'resort'

brook / river, taken from another angle

a shed overlooking the river/brook

yes, you guessed it, right outside the washroom

an outdoor jacuzzi

the host opening some durians

melts in your mouth, full flavour

the host and hostess ensuring that we have the best fruits

BMW Superbikes @ Genting

This is one of the photographs I took at the Genting 4 x 4. Looks much more interesting and exciting than the 4 x 4, in my opinion. But then again, they cost an arm and a leg.

A rich enthusiast

The BMW rider, Ah Boy and the official photographer Ah Heng

Here's Ah Boy showing how to get wet - both bike and rider

If, and when I can find the time, will share with you more images.

A new motorsports religion?

after kneeling down for a long while, giving his offerings, this monster came to live. raw sound and muscle. a really beautiful monster. Nearby, saw this really sweet girl.

4 x 4 Motorsports at Genting Highlands

Was in Genting for a small job. While there, took the opportunity to take these photographs. Now I know what 'Big Foot' is. Wonder how the driver handles this monster of a vehicle. What is mind boggling, or should it be ear-shattering, is that I was drawn to this vehicle (in red) about 200 metres away by the sound that emitted from the vehicle. If the driver and/or passenger in the vehicle are not wearing ear plugs when they blast the music, I am pretty sure they will be deaf within a week.

the wheels are as 'tall' as the girl in the pix

Running into our (Malaysia) king and our former prime minister

Photographs are such wonderful tools. Cleaning up my disk and saw this photo that I took a year ago. It was just like yesterday that I took this shot.

What is interesting is that there are many photographers on the day, and I remember there was one who stood out - literally and physically. He just pushed and shoved to be in front of all of us. I just wonder if he managed to snap one like the above. I guess not, since we have just less than 5 seconds to snap a photo of the king walking towards us, surrounded by his security personnel, and I secured 3 seconds from his majesty.

This image is possible courtesy of Chan Swee Meng. We were there on an assignment and Dr Mahathir was one of the two guests of honour. He was sporting enough to pose for a photo with me. Would love to take a photo with Anwar Ibrahim and his wife. Unfortunately, on the day he was about inches away, my buddies were not with me, and therefore no photographs with him.

Beautiful shadows

There are a number of photographs of shadows of trains of camels that I really love. Too bad I will not be able to take to the air and take such shots. Then again, ants too, gives great shadows. I particularly like these where the shadows look nicer than the actual thing.

Wedding photography

Took up an assignment  a couple of months ago. The bride and groom are lovely couples, both in look and personality. I am sure you will agree too.

This is the first time I went solo. Started the shoot from about 7am and did not finish until almost midnight, with a couple of hours of rest in the afternoon. I don't think I will ever want to shoot solo again. Most boring, and rather tiring too.

Anyway, just thought I will share a couple of thoughts that another photographer friend shared. In this instance, I gave them a lot more images than they asked for. This should be a no no, as inevitably some not so good shots sneaked through.

Also, there may be some situation where the scene can only be 'covered' using a fish eye lens. That is also a no no, for most people cannot appreciate photographs taken with a fish eye lens. Let it be. If your 17-55mm could not cover the angle, forget it. Or check with your client (if you really want to cover the whole event) if they care about seeing images taken with a fish eye.

Last, but not least, ensure that you edit all photos really well, and discard those that may not make you look good. And good luck!

More photographs of paintings

Finished another small project. Photographing paintings by Shane Vink. Two of my favourites are as follows:

... and the artist

Assignments - Photographing Paintings

Just finished a short assignment - photographing paintings. This is rather challenging as the material used is rather reflective. Nothing that cannot be solved with the right positioning of studio lights. Giving you a sneak peak of one of the paintings that will soon be displayed in an art exhibition

Graduation photographs

They can't wait to get back to class after a gruelling photography session. They did not know that I will subject them to individual 'torture' after the group session!

This had been a very busy week, with three assignments in one week.

I took up this assignment with lots of apprehension - Graduation photographs of children in a kindergarten. I know that it is difficult to take photographs of children, especially when they are in a group. True enough, at different times (wrong timing for us), they are digging their noses, scratching their head, tugging at their gown, looking away from the camera, tilting their heads, bending down, disturbing the one standing next/behind/in front of them, etc.

Thank goodness, the only snag we hit was time. We ran out of time. Because of that, we had to return to the school the next day to complete the shoot. Otherwise, it had been a great experience, and of course I have to thank the headmistress for giving me a chance to do this shoot, knowing that I have not done it before.

Oh, for this assignment, the we include Yip. Great help.  Note the makeshift studio.

Candid Photography

Snapped this shot when I was in a car during a wedding assignment. Sweet, and knowledgeable.

Food Photography - Peranakan @ One Utama

Took these photographs a couple of months back. A sample of dishes (also called nyonya dishes, I believe) served by the restaurant, Peranakan Restaurant, is as shown.

I tell you, they are good, really good.

Oh, the shop, yes, the shop - you won't miss it.

Asian Geographic Photo Contest - Asia Without Borders

You might be interested in participating in this contest.

Not me. Somehow, I do not feel comfortable in having to pay to participate.

The making of 'Iron Man', and 'the amateurs'

Was pointed to Jeff Bridges website while 'surfing'. Wonderful site, and enjoyed the photographs presumably taken by Bridges. Thought you, too, may enjoy his site.

We must remember to document events/activities that we would fondly reminisce as we age.

Should we chase technology?

Read and re-read this posting by a friend of mine, Albert, in a photography forum, in response to some comments by a newbie. I hope he does not mind my sharing his gems of knowledge.

He said, "Please don't blame your camera if your pictures are not nice. The camera is just a tool and it's up to you to use your tool to get a job well done. Please remember it is the photographer who shoots a picture and not the camera. ...  Eye contact is also very important (this is in relation to portraiture) ..."
I cannot agree more, although I am still searching.

As an illustration, these two photographs were taken at about the same time, using different cameras. With the Nikon, I could not get the composition I want. The P&S, slightly better, but the two flowers in the distance could not be 'blurred'.

Nikon D300, 80-200mm F2.8/D lens

Lumix LX3

Image of a Prancing Horse

A client of mine is looking for an image of a horse with the fore legs raised. I guess something like what we see on a Ferarri. I don't have any, but would be happy to market your image to this client if it is indeed a 'prancing horse'